Hasselbacken 04-06: Adhiban, Sasi and Vidit in pursuit

by Priyadarshan Banjan - 06/05/2016

The Stockholm Chess Society is the third oldest continuously running chess club in the world, first founded in 1866. Celebrating its 150th anniversary, the Hasselbacken Open has been organized, bringing players from all over the world, and the organizers have held nothing back with photos, GM video commentary, and more! Three Indians are pursuing the leaders with 5.0/6. See the report and don't miss the beautiful games by Vidit and Adhiban.

Hasselbacken 04-06: Adhiban, Sasi, and Vidit in pursuit

Photos by Lars OA Hedlund

You may have never been to Stockholm, but when you read that the capital of Sweden is an archipelago of fourteen islands connected by fifty-seven bridges, and when you see the pictures of the lovable city, you can only long to be present in this Scandivanian beauty. To be precise geographically, the main Stockholm city is not really an archipelago but a fashionable and trend-setting society. A part of it is inside a time capsule, with historic structures and razor-thin cobblestone streets, while the main city is surrounded by the vast archipelago.

Panorama over Stockholm around 1868 as seen from a hot air balloon, around the time the Stockholm Chess Society was founded. Lithography by Carl Johan Billmark made in 1868.

Turns out, the gorgeousness is not just extended to the city's landscape, but also its metro railway system. The Stockholm metro, opened in 1950, is well-known for its decoration of the stations. Running 110km underground in Stockholm’s Tunnelbana (subway) is the world’s longest art exhibition, with paintings, sculptures, mosaics and installations created by 150 artists since the 1950s in more than 90 of the city’s 100 stations.

Above is the is the vibrantly coloured abstract harlequin design that engulfs the Kungsträdgården Station along the Blå linjen (Blue line) in the centre of Stockholm. Painted by Ulrik Samuelson in 1977, with later additions made by the artist in 1987, this ceiling artwork can be found on the Arsenalsgatan exit side of the station. (Photo: Lola Akinmade Åkerström)

Back to some chess: three players stand at 5.5/6 — Russian Dimitry Andreikin (2732), Frenchman Sebastian Maze (2617) and Israeli Ilia Smirin (2665). In the large pack of pursuers at 5.0/6, three Indians are fighting hard for a good finish in the business end of the tournament.

GM B. Adhiban (2663) has it task cut out as he takes on one of the leaders — Smirin — in the seventh round, but with the white pieces.

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